Bishop Staten
Role at the time: Independent candidate for U.S. House in Virginia's 2nd District
Condemned
Statement summary
Virginia congressional candidate Bishop Staten said Flock cameras invade privacy and burden residents, and that they should be taken out because they are not needed.
“It invades privacy, it’s a burden on the people. We were okay before them , now we are “fined” with them . Flock cameras out, we don’t need them. It’s highway robbery, another gadget to take money from the working-class citizens.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)2nd District Q&A: Matt Baker, Jen Kiggans, Elaine Luria, Geral "Bishop" Staten
Candidate survey published by Virginia's public media stations (VPM, WAMU, WHRO, WMRA and Radio IQ).
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Asked about Flock and other plate readers in his district, Staten said the cameras invade privacy and should be taken out because they are not needed. That is a call to remove them.